


Incarnate

by KeanBlade



Category: Naruto
Genre: Amaterasu's Blessed, Angst, Blood, M/M, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:55:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28398831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeanBlade/pseuds/KeanBlade
Summary: Born to be the incarnation of a god's will on earth Tobirama was always destined to be different, when Amaterasu chose him to be her Will made flesh everyhting burned; there was no life to live when he was the living Word of a goddess that hated him
Relationships: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara
Comments: 44
Kudos: 349





	1. Chapter 1

Tobirama was born drenched in blood and silent, pale and white from hair to his eyes – which he refused to open; when he was handed to his exhausted mother she wept for her child knowing what his coloring and the small silvery shape on his brow meant, her child was to be the will of the divine on earth, a god incarnate. For his first two years Tobirama grew with closed eyes and opens senses, all the endless movement and life of the world pouring into a child too young to hold it; and then he was chosen by his deity, the goddess streaming in to fill him overflowing and burning (so painful to his water nature) and searing his eyes red, splitting lines in his skin when she carelessly overloaded her power in his tiny shape. It was then that his father _raged_ to know that the Incarnation born into his family had been chosen by the goddess of his greatest enemy, for Amaterasu he was sure would never champion the Senju over her chosen children. So did the child Butsuma had so long thought to take into a symbol of the Senju’s right to victory become instead a curse; Tobirama's clan respected him and his existence as the incarnation of divinity, but they were wary of him and in time quite forgot that he was a _child_ under the sun goddess’s power. Thus he grew up lonely, knowing that all he was was the channel for the gods to work their will and had no value other than that; not that that gave him much value, for Amaterasu loved him not, this child of her Chosen’s enemies. She loved him not and tended to him not and only ever spoke to him when she was angered or required his work and though she couldn’t prevent him using her power she could make him regret needing too.

It was a foolish choice, for in her anger she closed her heart to knowing the truth of her incarnation, she cared not that Tobirama didn’t want war and didn’t want death and didn’t hate the Uchiha (how could he with Amaterasu loving them so much?) and indeed reused at no small cost to use divine power on the battlefield. Tobirama could not refuse to fight the Uchiha completely (not only because of his father’s anger but also because if he didn’t someone else would have too, someone that might be weaker and younger and die sooner, someone’s little brother maybe) but when he took the field it was only ever as a man, with the gifts and strengths he had gained from his own work and toil and pain; never once did he turn fire against the Uchiha though it would have spared him pain. But Amaterasu cared not, cared not that his heart was true and strong and unflinching (all the things such a goddess found good), cared not that he wanted peace in a way no other could understand as he felt the shifting and creaking of the wheel of reincarnation as it was weighed ever more down with senseless blood, cared not that had she chosen to look she would have seen that clever, _clever_ mind bent to a task she would have found most good.

* * *

Tobirama lost his beloved little brothers in blood and knew that Hashirama couldn’t quite understand why Tobirama hadn’t been able to save them (he was the incarnation of a goddess on earth, surely he could save two little boys?) just as Hashirama had never really understood why Tobirama would fight the Uchiha or why the incarnation was so strange and removed. Which was not to say that Hashirama didn’t love his brother, for he _did_ , he loved Tobirama dearly but he…didn’t understand him, the workings of Tobirama’s mind and choices ever closed to him (what point was there in sharing either when even his goddess did not want to hear) and with it the chance to be close to his brother – to _like_ his brother as well as love him. And so it was that Hashirama knew not of Tobirama’s plot, brought into action rather than just thought when the boy saw his brother’s pain at losing his friend.

(Hashirama wanted to be angry at Tobirama for leading his father to them but, well, he wasn’t a fool, he knew that if Madara had been Uchiha that meant Tobirama had always known who Hashirama was meeting with- the incarnation always knew where they were, another thing he refused to turn to Butsuma’s purpose- and had never spoke of it until he had been left no choice. Had it been any other Senju that tailed him Madara would have been very dead, it was only Tobirama’s bloody eyes that hung as a warning. A reminder of the first time Tobirama had brought down the full power of his borrowed divinity at only four and proclaimed that no more children would die, no matter what if a child was under thirteen they weren’t to be killed, _ever_. There had been anger but Tobirama had pointed out that a shinobi who couldn’t escape a _thirteen year old_ wasn’t much of a shinobi, and anyway he didn’t care, no more children would die on Senju blades ((not even after Itama died)) and any who tried would know what it meant to go against the will of a goddess. Some had tried anyway, and they had died with their blood boiling in their veins and Butsuma had whipped his son bloody and changed nothing. ((It was also the first time Hashirama saw his brother pay the blood price and he never forgot it)) So no Hashirama would admit he sulked for a while, shamefully indulging in his self-pity and righteousness before shaking it off and going looking for the brother he had avoided for two weeks; it was two weeks too long and by then Tobirama was even farther from reach than ever.)

Tobirama had started plotting young, as soon as he understood his nature he had begun looking for a solution, for he had always been practical and oriented on the present as it was not as he wanted it to be. Therefor he didn’t dream of making peace treaties and villages and accepting love as the most important thing! Tobirama knew that hate would always be stronger (if a goddess could choose him of her own free will to be her Will made flesh and hate him anyway what hope did humanity have?) and that the only way to make peace that _lasted_ was to force them either to come together against a greater foe (and how many would that kill?) or give them something to make it to exhausting to hold on to hate. So he planned and planned and planned, always running and trying and plotting (he would not be loved for this – it mattered not, Amaterasu would burn him out before he hit twenty five at the latest) until he had what he needed and brought all of his strength and that he could barrow from his goddess to bare on the forging of a great object of power, a pact so deep only the gods could declare it null.

When the forging was done Tobirama fell where he stood and lost himself for a long time, drifting in and out of life until the call of his brother dragged him back to finish what he had started (he lost many days in that time, though it would be impossible to say how many had passed before his absence was noted and remarked upon). So it was that the next time the Senju gathered to go to battle with the Uchiha over a boundary line Tobirama stood between them and the gates, dressed as Incarnate in nothing more than a thin wrap around his hips, bloody scared-in markings of Amaterasu clear in the sun and silver mark on his brow glittering. The clan went stiff and wary, for it was not often that the Incarnate appeared thus but all knew when he did there was no going against his will; slowly he raised a hand with a very thin blade and drew it down the long vein in the wrist, a wound that would bleed out a man within minutes. Hashirama twitched, he always hated to see his brother pay the blood price, the cost of proving he acted with Amaterasu’s blessing was always steep, but it hurt to see his too-solemn brother make the cuts that would kill him if the goddess decided she disliked his action and stopped the flow of her power. As long as the divine blessing lasted such wounds wound not hurt Tobirama permanently, it was to demonstrate that blessing that the cuts were made – cold hard proof in continuing life even as blood soaked the ground to mud.

Touka stepped forward and spoke “What say the gods Amaterasu-brought down?” she asked; Tobirama’s lips curled in a chilly smile and he held out a hand, a blood soaked scroll as long as his forearm in his fingers, gold leaf glittering under the sun “The Will of the goddess will be done, what I have wrought will make it so.” his burning eyes flickered over the clan “There will be no more war and no more senseless death in fire country, for three generations or until the gods will it no clan will fight another for revenge or power or greed. No more children will die lest they go against the pact of blood and divine Right” his fingers opened, and he dropped the scroll, it hit the earth with a deep resounding sound link a gong and with such weight it shook the earth and sent dust billowing; as though it was made with lead not paper, blood, and gold.

Hashirama stepped forward and walked to his brother, lifting the scroll to find it lighter than he had expected; Tobirama’s eyes gentled a bit on the older Senju when he spoke “It is heavy with the judgment of Amaterasu, you would never find peace a burden brother.” Hashirama swallowed hard, he knew what his brother had done, he knew what it meant that Tobirama had said _‘I_ have wrought’ the blood pact may have been divinely blessed and ratified but the base part had been nothing god given, nothing but years and years and years of Tobirama’s work as he collected blood from every linage in fire country to use in making this impossible artifact. It wasn’t the peace Hashirama would have chosen, not when it was written in force and backed with damnation but…it was peace, peace god forged and true; a chance for something better to grow if the leader of the clans were wise.

Tobirama seemed to glow even brighter, like a fire had been lit in his as he stepped forward and, as if commanded, Hashirama dropped to his knees in the dust and blood; shivering when his brothers long finger reached out and drew a mark on his brow in blood “The Queen of Heaven sees you” he promised and Hashirama shivered again at the searing wash that swept through him, the eyes of the goddess seeing him for the first time (how had Tobirama lived with this eating him from the inside out for so twenty years? How was he still breathing and walking and fighting?). Tobirama stepped back and Hashirama dragged himself to his feet, fingers tight around the still blood dripping scroll (Hashirama had a feeling it would never really dry) as he looked at his brother. “Go, tell the Uchiha what has been done and Amaterasu has blessed. All other clans will be called to a meeting they must attend in two weeks and shall know of this then but the Uchiha should know first” Hashirama nodded, the Senju and Uchiha were the strongest of the clans, if they stopped fighting the other clans would pull back to see what was happening until the meeting – he didn’t bother to wonder how his brother had called the meeting or insured that all would be there, the working of the gods were often complex and the workings of his brother more so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I write fast and don't edit much- this is a place for me to not have to worry too much about perfection and just enjoy it- so things can be mangled at times. (I've got a wonky brain that can't see symbols as well, so I frequently can't even see mistakes) That's not something that's likely to change any time soon, so if imperfect writing puts you off this probably isn't for you


	2. Chapter 2

Madara waited at the edge of the boundary, tense with anticipation; the Senju should already be here by now and the Uchiha leader couldn’t understand what would have kept them back (nor did it help that the sun seemed brighter, that there had been a moment when it grew so bright it seemed to wash out all color into brilliant white; could it have been the movement of Amaterasu? He didn’t know and it grated). Movement at the trees made the Uchiha straighten but to his shock only Hashirama and a few others- not his brother though, where was the demon?- stepped out, the other Senju standing at the tree line as their leader walked out, face grave and under a banner of – Madara felt anger slam though him all at once, for the Senju to come under Amaterasu’s banner as if _they_ were _hers-!_

Snarling the Uchiha stormed forward his kin at his back, “How _dare_ you?” he hissed “How dare you disrespect Amaterasu-kami like this!?” Hashirama paused, looking genuinely confused “…what?” he said slowly and Madara sneered, muscles twitching “You come to kill us under Her banner and think we will not take offence?!” he spat. Hashirama blinked, “Well of course we came under her banner, how could we do anything else?” the Senju said, looking honestly bewildered. Madara frowned, thrown off by the Senju’s honest confusion “What?” he said, Hashirama shifted “Well we couldn’t come under another Kami’s banner when we came from Tobirama could we?” he seemed to think this was a very reasonable and clear statement not even _more_ confusing. “What does the Demon have to do with Amaterasu-Kami?” Izuna snapped and Hashirama winced “I do wish you would stop calling him that, it’s really not fair given that he has only ever fought you as a man” Madara was now _thoroughly_ confused. “I don’t understand” he said slowly, Hashirama folded his arms, beginning to look truly angry “Tobirama’s refusal to fight you with the divine power cost him a _lot_ from our father, the fact that you refuse to respect that is pretty fucking insulting” something cold slid down Madara’s spine even as he started at Hashirama’s profanity.

“What do you mean ‘divine power’?” the Uchiha asked slowly, Hashirama’s frown grew more thunderous and then he stopped, examining them closely “You…you really don’t know? _How_ can you not know? _How_ did you not recognize-?” he seemed blown away, legitimately shocked to the core “How did you miss that my brother is Incarnate?” behind Madara he felt his whole clan draw back and suck in shocked breaths. “ _Incarnate?”_ Madara whispered through numb lips, Hashirama nodded “Of course, he bares all the marks even if the covers his forehead when not acting as Amaterasu’s voice” “He is _Amaterasu-Kami’s_ Incarnate?” the Uchiha definitely felt sick now, he wanted to laugh in Hashirama’s face for a ploy or a trick, but there was nothing deceitful in his eyes and to come under Amaterasu’s banner and then _lie_ about something like this was a death sentence. Still “Tobirama Senju is Incarnate?” he breathed, Hashirama shook his head “I don’t know how you missed it, he has never tried to hide it” Madara shook his head “There has not been an Incarnate in the Uchiha in a very long time” he croaked out.

“Oh!” Hashirama exclaimed “that makes sense, I should have thought of that. Tobi always said that Amaterasu’s children were already god-touched, no wonder you can’t be divine Will made flesh” Madara felt a pleased flush run through him at the thought that Amaterasu called them her children, that She loved them as they loved Her and blessed them; but that did make him wonder, why choose a Senju as Her Incarnate, an enemy that had killed so many – but, Tobirama had never called down Her power on them, had fought as a man, had paid a price for that, so perhaps… “What did the Incarnate say that you come under Amaterasu-Kami’s banner?” Hikaku’s voice refocused Madara and returned the grim look to Hashirama’s face. The Senju lifted his hand and showed the Uchiha a scroll he was holding, blood seeping between his fingers and dripping to the ground “Tobirama has wrought and Amaterasu has ratified, her Will made inviolable: there will be no more war in fire country.”

* * *

Madara watched as the field filled with shinobi under a searing sun; there was at least two representatives from every clan and family in fire country, all of them restless and paranoid as they eyed each other. Only the Senju and Nara seemed calm, the Nara even seemed a bit bored where they waited around the low dais Hashirama had constructed, the small table cover with white cloth and the ever bleeding scroll clearly visible to all. Madara shifted his weight, glancing at Hashirama on the other side of the dais, the two of them alone standing raised as the greatest of the clans though they Hyuuga, Aburame, and Akimichi stood close; “Hashi-“ but the Senju shook his head, a tight expression on his face as he looked at his clan, tense and waiting. The Uchiha’s jaw twitched but he was prevented from farther anger when the Senju went totally silent as and one shifted, making a path through their number and walking down it – it took everything Madara had not to let his jaw drop and he heard muffled sounds of shock from many in his clan. Tobirama Senju – no, not Senju, not to today, _Tobirama_ walked though his clan completely unclothed but for a clinging white wrap around his hips, all snowy skin and brilliant scarlet scars proclaiming his allegiance. On his brow- normally covered with the face guard he wore- was a glittering god-mark and his face was serene, remote as he moved with total confidence to the dais.

The Nara stood as he came to the edge of the crowd, bowing shallowly to the Incarnate who acknowledged them with a faint nod and moved gracefully to stand behind the scroll, facing the crowd with pale arms crossed over a lean chest. He examined the gathered for a long moment and then flipped out a hand, the Uchiha tensing as the sight of the razor thin blade and Hashirama twitching tightly; Madara frowned trying to figure out what was going on when Tobirama raised the blade and with a sure familiar hand cut a deep gash from under his left ear to his collarbone, easily cutting the artery and sending blood gushing down his skin. Madara tensed, about to dive for the dying man when something tightened on his ankle and he glanced down to see a small root wrapped there; Hashirama. When he met Madara’s eyes he shook his head ever so slightly, his own face grim and uncharacteristically bitter as Tobirama turned to the crowd, apparently unconcerned with the amount of blood he was losing. Madara swallowed hard, barely able to pay attention as Tobirama spoke in a strangely doubled voice, telling the gathered shinobi what Hashirama had already told the Uchiha if in a more formal and ritual speech; it was difficult to fight down the pounding of his heart in his ears at the sight of the Incarnate, of _Amaterasu’s_ Incarnate, soaked in never ending blood long after it should have killed him (which must be the point). When Tobirama stopped speaking Hashirama stepped forward and lifted the scroll, a little something relived in the corners of his eyes.

Before he could speak though there was a shout from the edge of the crowd and Madara felt his Sharingan spin to life as the Hagoromo- armed and many, against the explicit instructions- acted, painfully clear that they intended to make this an ambush and whittle down the leadership of the other clans. They never had a chance; they had done nothing more than step forward when Tobirama shifted and LIGHT blossomed around him as if a white sun had taken his soul for a home. Hashirama grabbed Madara with the mokuton again and dragged the Uchiha to his knees the Senju and Nara dropping just as fast as Tobirama, as _Amaterasu_ _made_ _flesh_ , reached out and - the sun vanished in an impossible eclipse, and the Hagoromo screamed as one, writhing and agonized as their blood boiled and flesh was seared away. It was several minutes before it was over and every shinobi in the field was on their knees when the screams died, white faced as they looked at Amaterasu made flesh, cloaked in divine light and ribbons of scarlet. “The goddess has spoken, Her Will is clear; all who stand against it stand against the Queen of Heaven” Tobirama’s voice was almost lost under the bell like tones of the goddess, his lips moving half a second after her Words in an eerie lag.

Nothing moved and no one spoke and after a moment Tobirama’s hand dropped, the sun returned, the light dimmed and the goddess withdrew; watchful but not present. “All will come and see what Amaterasu has Blessed” said Tobirama; it was only because he was so close that Madara could see the faint coils of steam rising of the man’s pale skin and the slight tremble of his muscles jumping under his skin even though the exotic face remained still as a glacier lake (Madara couldn’t stop himself from moving slightly closer to the bleeding nin, anxiety over his state a buzz under his skin). Slowly the gather shinobi came forward, picking up the scroll under the Senju brother’s intent eyes and reading over it (Madara wanted to laugh at the disgusted look on the Hyuuga’s face when he realized touching it would mean getting blood on his hands); Madara cocked his head as he watched the Hyuuga’s hands shake as if the scroll weighed so much he could barely lift it, thinking of how when he had picked it up it had been surprisingly light. The Uchiha shot a look at his old friend and arched a subtle brow, Hashirama answering in a low voice “It is a god-blessed work, its weight is equal that of peace for all who touch it” Madara’s eyes went wide, thinking of all the Uchiha that had touched it is the last two week it had been left with them. He wished now he had known that! It would have been useful information.

As the last shinobi stepped back Tobirama moved forward “You shall live in my peace or die for Amaterasu’s, the choice is yours” so saying there was a sudden _hiss_ and the cut on his neck sealed itself into a faint scar to match the many Madara was starting to realize marked the younger man (so _many_ and he was only twenty two, how old was the first scar? How old was he the first time he bled to prove the goddess was serious?) and with that Hashirama moved forward at once, a light robe suddenly in his hands as he went to his brother and draped it over the willowy frame, wiping at the blood somewhat futilely with his own sleeves. Madara looked at them, at the lines of the Incarnate’s body and his brother’s anticipated grief and thought of his own brother and the way Izuna’s face had pinched over this; he glanced over his shoulder and smiled a touch, Izuna didn’t look pinched anymore, just shocked and a bit awestruck – yes, this was Amaterasu’s Will and Madara was more than looking forward to it.


	3. Chapter 3

Two years later Madara was beginning to find less personal peace in clan peace than he had anticipated. No war- which was not the same as no fighting especially with shinobi from other countries- meant no more children dying indiscriminately (Madara would never forget the look on the Senju child's face when he told Madara about Tobirama’s edict on children, would never forget that he owed the Incarnate for Kurohime’s life) and it hadn’t taken long for the clans to see the benefits of a united village, especially as some of the other clans in different countries decided that peace meant _weak_ rather than the opposite. It was good, living in the slowly growing village was good, being friends with Hashirama again was good, what _wasn’t_ good was Tobirama and his fever-bright eyes. Madara had noticed it first when the village was new and Tobirama had walked right into the Uchiha section dressed (or rather _un_ dressed) as the Incarnate with blood dripping from his bicep; the Senju hadn’t hesitated or reacted to the confused, semi-hostile looks of the Uchiha, instead going right to the first home and raising his hand, laying Amaterasu’s blessing on the building before moving on to the next and the next and the next, blessing every place the Uchiha had made for themselves with words of clarity of thought and health and good fortune and a dozen other blessings.

He had left just as suddenly as he came, walking out a second after the blood price wound closed and not acknowledging later that he had even done anything, seeming unaware of the silent way the Uchiha tried to bring it up. Madara had wanted to be offended until Hashirama just told him Tobirama probably didn’t _know_ that they were trying to recognize what he had done; the Senju’s eyes had been very sad and dark when he tried to explain that Tobirama was…a little oblivious to many things, raised to be the Incarnate to a cruel goddess (that had made the Uchiha twitch, but he held his tongue) and weapon when he wasn’t the goddess’s. Hashirama just said that Tobirama probably didn’t understand that the Uchiha were trying to recognize him and respect him; Madara told his clan and they grit their teeth and set about trying to be clearer, when that still didn’t work a frustrated Madara returned to Hashirama only to be told they shouldn’t even _try_. Madara had been livid until Hashirama’s face had collapsed; not in his usual dramatics just a deep, ugly pain as he dragged out the words to tell Madara that it didn’t matter, Tobirama was dying as the goddess burned him out and at this point it would be hard for Tobirama to even hear any voice but hers.

Madara had always loved Amaterasu but…it was jarring to hear Hashirama talk of Her with such bitterness, to hear his friend say that the goddess was cruel was a difficult pill to swallow, all the for the fact that as Madara got to know Tobirama better- as a _man_ not the Incarnate- he found to his shock that it was a man he was quite fond of. Clever, with a dry slightly off center humor that suited Madara rather well, quietly playful and silently enabling Madara’s fondness for messing with people with a gleeful glint in his eyes, he was _kind_ and honorable and devoted and strong and Madara - Madara wished he knew what it was that had left Amaterasu so angry with Her Incarnate, if he knew maybe he would be able to stop himself from falling in love with the man.

* * *

Amaterasu watched with frustration as her Incarnate moved through the world doing as she bid no matter the cost, laying her blessings (and then some, then many) killing her foes, executing her Will, and completely deaf to her words. She paced the celestial room as her Incarnate bled out for the judgment of the first clan conflict his pact had not prevented (not when both parties thought it self-defense) unable to do anything but feed blood to him as he called upon her Will and Power, uncaring of the steam rising from his skin as she _burned_ him. If he would but _listen_ she could maybe teach him how to be more careful, how to be her Will in the world without destroying himself, but he didn’t hear her and- bitter and shameful though it was- that was her fault. The goddess sighed deeply and turned the problem over in her head, uncertain how to fix her mistake, when there was a whisper and a shiver and _“Amaterasu-Kami I would beg a word from you_ ” oh? Interesting, what did her child need? (She had always been fond of Madara, he was so much her child and so very passionate, it was no burden to answer his call)

Madara Uchiha was kneeling in the shrine built to her (and consecrated by her Incarnate, a place more _hers_ than any had been in a long time) incense and offering and waiting, “ ** _Tell us why you have called us_** ” she murmured from behind him, pleased when he made no move to rise or look at her “Amaterasu-Kami, I would beg for an answer to a question I fear you will not like” he said, bluntly honest. The goddess hummed and moved around to stand at his side, thinking about her fondness for this man “ ** _You may ask, we will not become angry_** ” he hesitated, and she could feel him gathering himself before he spoke. “Amaterasu-Kami, why do you hurt your Incarnate? What had he done to displease you? Can anything be done to ease your anger?” his voice was a little desperate at the end and Amaterasu stiffened before curling her fingers in his hair and pulling him up to face her, she examined his face even as he kept his eyes respectfully lowered and after a moment she spoke. “ ** _You are fond of him_** ” Madara nodded, unashamed even to his goddess, _good “ **We made a mistake, when we chose our Incarnate we were angry at our chosen children's endless deaths and bitter at our own helplessness. And so when we chose to act through him we thought not of who he might be other than who his father was. It shall ever be our shame that for so long we hated a child that was only ever ours in every way that mattered, our shame that he has so long been faithful and dutifully and good and we have repaid it with cruelty.**_ ”

Madara shivered as she ran her long fingers through his hair “ ** _By the time we realized that we were missing something, that we had never looked into his heart or at his soul and instead only poured our power and Will through him indiscriminately, it was too late. For too long our touch has meant only pain, our words been only cruel, and now that we have looked into him as we should have long ago and seen him to be worthy he cannot hear us._** ” sorrow twined around her voice “ ** _He flinches from our touch, too accustomed to pain. He hides from our words, unable to bare what he thinks we will say. He does our Will and neglects us not, but he is beyond our reach._** ” Amaterasu’s face was deeply sad as she considered it, if only she had bothered to let go her unfounded anger sooner and seen the child’s soul when he was not so badly wounded that he couldn’t feel a gentle touch. When he had called upon her out of nowhere and dragged in more of her divinity than ever before at first she had been furious, but as the days dragged on she had growing curious and arranged to _see_ what he did and found – found the pact and all it promised her children.

It was only then that she looked into her Incarnate’s soul and found a mind and heart that would have been prized and loved by her had she seen it before; she had reached out to touch him then, wanting to embrace her brilliant child and thank him for his cleverness and incentive – but at the first touch of her divinity he had flinched, curled in on himself and terrified of her attention, his soul pleading ( _iknowimbadtryingtobebetterhurtspleasenoiknowmonsterbutplease_ ) and shaking and she. She had never felt such shame. The passing of mortal years had brought her no closer to reaching him, to showing him other ways than swallowing the sun when divinity was needed, to teaching him how to make her gifts not hurt him. “ ** _He will die soon, our divinity will consume him and he knows it, pulls on it ever more in the hope of accomplishing just a bit more before he burns in our light. He will die and be taken to the realms of the dead broken and burnt and he shall be beyond our help then_** ” she tried not to think that maybe that was why he was rushing headlong towards death, that he would embrace it just to get away from her was too bitter a pill.

Madara made a tight noise and she looked down as her child, startled to see the wetness on his hands “Then there is nothing to be done then Amaterasu-Kami?” and oh but he would grieve when her Incarnate died, it was written in his heart that he would always grieve the other man and wonder – wonder if they could have had more, “ ** _You could love him_** ” she murmured, crouch in front of him and scraping his hair back from his face, meeting those dark eyes “ ** _oh you could love him so easily_** ” he swallowed and didn’t disagree and something brilliant bloomed in Amaterasu. Perhaps, perhaps, “ ** _You have half a year, if in that time you can love and be loved by him and show him how to accept gentleness and kindness, if in that time you can show him that not all touch hurts and not all words are cruel and heal him until he can hear me again he can be saved_** ” it was like watching the sun come up in his face and Amaterasu had always loved sunrises.


	4. Chapter 4

Madara set about planning his wooing of Tobirama as if it was a battle strategy, he called in advisors from his clan (the only ones he would trust to stay silent about his plans, the Uchiha had learned to love their goddesses' Will on earth dearly) and made sure he had all the intelligence he could gather and then he set about his plans. First was slowly getting Tobirama used to Madara’s presence as safe and not a source of pain – the only person he seemed to think of that way was Touka, not even Hashirama was spared the faint tightening of lean muscles in response to anticipated pain, much to his sorrow. So Madara started with small things, he tried not to shout as much, he paid more attention to his chakra – though pulling it closer just made Tobirama more stressed, the pale man growing jumpy and tense until Madara started letting his chakra swell out whenever they were in the same room, filling the space with is heavy power and was rewarded with an almost instantaneous relaxation, Tobirama now clearly calmer whenever Madara was present. The Uchiha started just _happening_ to have a bit too much food and foist it off on the Incarnate, when that no longer stressed him Madara started bringing him snacks and slipping in that he had gotten them specifically for Tobirama – that it was specifically for him and not just happenstance.

He watched and inserted himself in situations that stressed Tobirama, just moving closer and standing silently next to the other shinobi until the protective edge faded; he made sure Tobirama had time and space to teach (which seemed to be his greatest joy) and work in his lab and eventually even managed to poke a confused Tobirama into a nap in the middle of a particularly bad day. Madara found there was a trick to it, if he started by making the albino used to the idea that nice things happened and then slowly worked in that Madara was doing them for him and no one else he could frequently knock Tobirama just off balance enough to sneak in something new- a touch, a gift, warming a cold room- without setting off his defenses. It was a difficult balance, delicate and careful to make sure that Tobirama knew Madara treated him special without making him wary about what Madara wanted in return (normally it was best to just act as though it was blindingly obvious why Madara would want to treat Tobirama differently- and it kind of was really- as he tended to get thrown off by that. Especially once others started to do the same, all ‘of course Madara treats you different, duh’ that was very helpful). And eventually even Hashirama figured it out, a worried glint in his eye when he looked at his ever more febrile brother and Madara’s gentle, watchful courtship; he worried for his friend and hurt for his brother but…he trusted Madara and it was easy to see how the Uchiha’s implacable campaign was making progress when every time the older Uchiha entered the room the line of Tobirama’s shoulders softened and his eyes focused a bit more on the world around him.

Three months in Madara coxed Tobirama to sleeping on his shoulder and basked in the moment, pleasure and hope twisting through him even as he planned to drag the younger man home and feed him – Tobirama was too thin again. Four months in he had the Incarnate so used to touch that he could walk up behind the albino and wrap his arm around the narrow waist and get a shiver and confused blush but also have the younger man lean into Madara and let the Uchiha take some of his weight. Five months in Madara took the leap and captured Tobirama’s sharp chin in his fingers, pressing a light kiss to the thin lips over the desk before pulling back and smiling softly and stroke a pale cheek, “You are so beautiful” he murmured smiling more when the soft pink flush grew until he saw the walls start to come up behind those Amaterasu red eyes. “Hey no, don’t do that darling” the Uchiha murmured, moving around the desk till he could lean on it and cup that vulpine face “don’t do that, listen to me darling, do you think me stupid?” a slow head shake “or blind? Or a fool? A lie?” more shakes “then trust that I tell you the truth, you are _beautiful_ to me, I can not speak for others, but to me you are beautiful” and Madara could see the conflict in Tobirama’s eyes, could see how much he wanted to shut down fighting with his trust of and comfort with Madara, and he held his breath, waiting. This moment right here this was the moment when all was won or lost, when Tobirama had a chance or fell to his pain and the burn of Amaterasu’s power.

The moment dragged on and on and Madara felt frustrated tears claw at the back of his throat (he was going to lose him, going to lose the man he had come to love so much after all this time) and then slowly Tobirama’s eyes closed and he turned _into_ Madara’s hands, tentatively nuzzling closer as the Uchiha bit back a harsh sound and leaned forward to hide his face in wild white hair.

* * *

Amaterasu watched her Incarnate slowly learn to trust gentleness and see affection and she _hoped_ ; she didn’t want to lose her broken child now after everything that had happened. And it was working, Madara easing him gently into warmth and affection until he could lay out her Incarnate in his bed and reduce that controlled man to shivering pleasure and clutching fingers as the Uchiha pet his red streaked skin (another regret, if only she had been gentler when she gave him those…), take her pale child and coax out of him pleasure that he had never imagined and cuddle him close in the aftermath until calm returned. She watched and waited and planed and when one day Madara sat with him and asked that Tobirama listen to her, told him that Amaterasu wanted to speak to him, _promised_ that she wouldn’t hurt him (and it ached in the goddess that such a promise was needed), her Incarnate nodded; agreed even as he was clearly clutched with terror. Madara sat behind him and pulled the albino into the circle of his arms and legs until he was surrounded by the person that meant safety to him and then he whispered in a pale ear “ _Listen_ ” and Tobirama, for the first time in forever _did_ , listened to her words not just her Words.

“ ** _Hello child_** ” she whispered as soft and light as the first brush of the sun in a sweet summer morning. Even so he shivered and muffled a terrified sob, shaking with fear as his lover whispered soft promise into his pale skin (even to taking him away from her – she wanted to grow angry at that but wasn’t it was she had told him to do in the end?) but he didn’t shut down or shut her out and Amaterasu spoke again **_“we – I - I am sorry my Incarnate_** ” he shook, and his confusion was a stinging thorn in her heart. “ ** _I failed you, you who I should never have lost. I betrayed you my Incarnate, I broke the faith, and you paid a far higher price for that than you should have ever had to_** ” Madara whispered in his ear as his hid his face in shaking hands and Amaterasu forced back her impatience, Madara had taken the slow path into her Incarnate’s trust, she would have to do that same. “ ** _My divinity is destroying you, child. Let me teach you a new way, I would not take you from your lover so soon_** ” she thought that maybe she had lost him, that it was too much; but Madara tangled them even closer and whispered broken pleas in Tobirama’s ear _“-please, please darling, don’t make me lose you, please-“_ and with the endless endurance that had saved him so far Tobirama agreed, let the goddess take his hands, didn’t shut her out and let her show him how to sip on divinity as much as was needed and no more and how to protect his soul with his own chakra (all things she should have shown him long ago) and then she drew away, forcing her raging nature to give in. The slow path, the slow path.

* * *

Tobirama stood in the sun and turned his face into it’s light, feeling Amaterasu’s rays spill over unclothed skin as he stood as Incarnate in front of the alter waiting in the soft hush (waiting and alive, so much more than he had ever thought to be at twenty five) for – smothering chakra, so comforting in its totality, rolled over him and he turned opening his eyes and smiling to see the heat in Madara’s eyes as the other man joined him, stunning in his formal clothing. “you look breathtaking” the Uchiha murmured and Tobirama flushed “that’s what you say every time” he whispered back meeting dark eyes; Madara’s face was so very fond as he took one pale hand and raised it to his lips “and it is true every time” he murmured back ignoring Hashirama’s squawking about waiting until _after_ the ceremony for touching even as small red-red flowers fell from the clear sky – a blood price Tobirama didn’t have to pay.


End file.
